550i, severe tire cupping on front insides.

[kaineb]

I have done a search and found some articles but nothing to say that this is overly common. I believe the vehicle is a sport model. Anyone else seen these issues?

I have an E39 sport and i am aware that if you dont rotate properly the tire life is drastically reduced. I just have never seen such bad tire cupping before.

[racooper3]

Could be some suspension damage. Might find someone who does great alignments and have the car checked out.

[borderchris]

Doesn't sound right. My fronts have 10K and no uneven wear whatsoever. While the 550i Sports Package obviously cannot have tires rotated, the alignment specs up front are very mild (close to 0 on camber). I would have a look at your alignment ASAP. The rear tends to see a lot of inside wear due to the -2.0 camber, but I've never seen that type of wear up front.

[kaineb]

Yep, luckily not my car but i sure was almost ready to buy it before i did a mild PPI. Stinks because i like everything about it. Just in mechanical disrepair. I have to say even though it had a bunch of issues it was a beautiful car and a great ride. And we keep looking!

[02325]

low air pressure will cause tires to cup on the inside also brand will cause excessive cupping.

[e30ncsu]

Get an alignment to fix your toe and check your control arm bushings

[racooper3]

Get an alignment to fix your toe and check your control arm bushings

I was thinking the Toe was off if cupping. An alignment can find the issue. Find somebody who knows what they are doing though. Not necessarily the BMW dealer.

Doesn't sound right. My fronts have 10K and no even wear whatsoever. While the 550i Sports Package obviously cannot have tires rotated, the alignment specs up front are very mild (close to 0 on camber). I would have a look at your alignment ASAP. The rear tends to see a lot of inside wear due to the -2.0 camber, but I've never seen that type of wear up front.

If you don't like the -2 degrees of camber on the rear and you aren't an agressive driver and drive on lots of twisty roads, see if an alignment specialist. He can back it down to the least amount of neg camber and still in spec. That way you can minimize the rear inside wear.

On the front something is out of alignment if you see severe cupping on your tires. I am also assuming you have the factory wheels and tires with only 10K miles. That needs to be looked at or your'll be your tire dealer's best friend every year.

Good Luck.

[e30ncsu]

If you go to a generic alignment shop they typically shoot for the middle of the acceptable range. On a BMW, this typically means that you have more negative camber in the back than you would like to have since the middle of the allowable range is negative. At a dealership or knowledgeable shop they will generally set the camber closer to zero even if you didn't specifically ask them to because they understand that most people would rather have their tires last longer.

Also, looking at your tires to determine proper inflation and alignment is one of those things your dad probably taught you when you were helping him work on his car. Here are a couple images I found on Google that can be helpful.